Twixy

Hi, I understand there are minimum prices per unit that foreigners are allowed to buy. For example, 1 million RM for Kuala Lumpur, 500,000 in Penang (which also has a minimum two unit requirement).

Do these restrictions also apply to commercial properties?

bakedbean

I don't think this is for commercial properties and also, bear in mind, that the 500K you talk about is for MM2Hers only in Penang. Penang, unlike other states, differentiates between MM2Hers and other Foreigners.

You can also read this topic below. May not answer your question, but tag on to that one, may get more answers.

http://britishexpats.com/forum/malay...eigner-813295/

Stuurman

AFAIK on Penang island the minimum purchase price for property for foreigners is 1 million for condo's and 2 million for landed houses.
If you have a MM2H visa it's 500K and you can buy maximum two properties per person. That means as a couple you can hold 4 but don't put any in both your names because it will count as 1 for each of you.

kebi

I would assume that there is no difference of commercial landed property or commercial strata title property - one is landed property = min. RM 2 Mio in Penang or strata property = min. RM 1 Mio. I could imagine that the Penang MM2H discount of 50% will not apply for commercial property.

JC3

Hi Twixy,

There is a useful article here about many aspects of owning property in Malaysia, written by Chur Associates, a KL law firm. See:

How to own property legally - Chur Associates ® Advocates & Solicitors - Registered Trademark Agency

Under the heading 'Foreign Ownership' it says:

Foreign ownership is permitted; subject to the approval of the Foreign Investment Committee (FIC) and State Authority’s Consent (if applicable).

The requirements of foreign ownership are as follows:

•Property must be valued more than RM150,000.00 (RM100,000.00 for Permanent Resident)
•For Agricultural land, it must be valued more than RM250,000.00 (or at least 5 acres)
•There is no limit on industrial property through locally incorporated company

NB. The article needs an update with regards to residential strata property as the Strata Management Act 2013 (Act 757) came into force in June 2015.


JC3

Scuba Tyke

Hi JC3,

I'm pretty sure the reference to the Foreign Investment Committee is out of date. We bought a condo apartment in Sabah in 2008 (sold in 2012) and a villa in Negeri Sembilan in 2012. I'm fairly certain we only needed consent from the State Authority in both cases, FIC involvement wasn't mentioned in our lawyer consultations and wasn't billed for. But, as always, for anyone buying it's worth checking the up to date info with a reputable lawyer beforehand.

ST

JC3

Hi Scuba,

Yes, we too bought a residential property without needing FIC approval. The blurb also refers to agricultural land and industrial property so perhaps FIC approval is required to purchase those. It does say 'if applicable'.

JC3